1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to support devices for mobile radio antenna. More particularly, it concerns improvements in hardware with which to mount radio antenna onboats, RV vehicles or like mobile units.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A widely used form of antenna for radio reception and trnasmission on boats or other mobile units, generally referred to as a whip antenna, comprises a base portion which is firmly mounted on some portion of the mobile unit and a free-standing rod-like portion that extends from the base portion. To be effective, the base portion must be so securely mounted that the antenna will remain in its proper position against the wind and motion forces to which it will be subjected during operation of the mobile unit. Such adverse forces can be quite substantial, e.g., when the boat on which the antenna is mounted is pounding into rough seas causing its free-standing portion to whip violently fore and aft.
In addition to securely supporting the antenna against the indicated adverse conditions, acceptable mounting hardware for mobile radio antenna mounting should meet several other requirements. For example, such hardware should enable the antenna to be quickly unmounted for any reason, e.g., to permit a boat to pass under a bridge.
Another requirement is for the mounting hardware to compensate for minor size variations in the base portion of the antenna that exist due to dimension tolerances needed to permit the antenna to be produced at customer acceptable costs. Thus, the hardware must handle such minor size variation problems and still provide the strong, stable support demanded by the above mentioned adverse conditions.
A variety of mobile radio antenna mounting hardware designs have been developed in the past, for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,208,702; 3,357,663 and 4,244,716. The present invention makes further improvements in this class of product to better meet the demands and requirements connected therewith as discussed above.